Ishikawa Goemon

Ishikawa Goemon 石川 五右衛門
Goemon as played by kabuki actor Arashi Hinasuke II (an 1863 painting by Toyokuni III)
Born	c. 1558
Died	October 8, 1594 (aged 35–36) Nanzen-ji, Kyoto
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Thief

Ishikawa Goemon (石川 五右衛門^?, 1558 – October 8, 1594) was a semi-legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor. He and his son were boiled alive in public after their failed assassination attempt on the Warring States-period warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His legend lives on in contemporary Japanese popular culture, often giving him greatly exaggerated ninja skills.

There is little historical information on Goemon's life, and as he has become a folk hero, his background and origins have been widely speculated upon. In his first appearance in the historical annals, in the 1642 biography of Hideyoshi, Goemon was referred to simply as a thief. As his legend became popular, various anti-authoritarian exploits were attributed to him, including a supposed assassination attempt against the Oda clan warlord Oda Nobunaga.

There are many versions of Goemon's background and accounts of his life. According to one of them, he was born as Sanada Kuranoshin in 1558 to a samurai family in service of the powerful Miyoshi clan in Iga Province. In 1573, when his father (possibly Ishikawa Akashi) was killed by the men of Ashikaga shogunate (in some versions his mother was also killed), the 15-year-old Sanada swore revenge and began training the arts of Iga ninjutsu under Momochi Sandayu (Momochi Tamba). He was however forced to flee when his master discovered Sanada's romance with one of his mistresses (but not before stealing a prized sword from his teacher). Some other sources state his name as Gorokizu (五郎吉^?) and say he came from Kawachi Province and was not a nukenin (runaway ninja) at all. He then moved to the neighbouring Kansai region, where he formed and led a band of thieves and bandits as Ishikawa Goemon, robbing the rich feudal lords, merchants and clerics, and sharing the loot with the oppressed peasants. According to another version, which also attributed a failed poisoning attempt on Nobunaga's life to Goemon, he was forced to become a robber when the ninja networks were broken up.